Home-field advantage might not mean much in the first round of the NFL playoffs.
Of the six games in the wild card round, the road teams are favored in four.
The biggest favorites are the Rams, who are 9.5-point favorites to beat the Panthers in Carolina. But that might be just fine with the Panthers: The Rams were previously 10-point favorites at Carolina in the regular season, but the Panthers won 31-28.
The Packers are 1.5-point favorites on the road in Chicago. It will be the third meeting of the two teams in the last six weeks after they played twice in December. The Bears beat the Packers 22-16 in overtime in Chicago in the regular season, while the Packers beat the Bears 28-21 in Green Bay.
The Bills are 1.5-point favorites against the Jaguars at Jacksonville. The Jaguars lost twice at home in the regular season.
The Eagles are 3.5-point favorites at home against the 49ers. The Eagles lost twice at home in the regular season.
The Patriots are 3.5-point favorites at home against the Chargers. The Patriots went 14-3 this season, but all three losses were at home.
The Texans are 3-point favorites on the road against the Steelers. The Steelers lost at home three times in the regular season.
If the betting lines are to be believed, only two division winners, the No. 2 seed Eagles and Patriots, will advance to the divisional round.
Patriots Clips
The NFL has announced the wild-card weekend schedule for Jan. 10-12:
Saturday, Jan. 10
4:30 p.m. 5 Los Angeles Rams at 4 Carolina Panthers (FOX, FOX Deportes)
8 p.m. 7 Green Bay Packers at 2 Chicago Bears (Prime Video)
Sunday, Jan. 11
1 p.m. 6 Buffalo Bills at 3 Jacksonville Jaguars (CBS, Paramount+)
4:30 p.m. 6 San Francisco 49ers at 3 Philadelphia Eagles (FOX, FOX Deportes)
8 p.m. 7 Los Angeles Chargers at 2 New England Patriots (NBC, Peacock, Universo)
Monday, Jan. 12
8 p.m. 5 Houston Texans at 4 Baltimore/Pittsburgh (ESPN/ABC/ESPN+/ ESPN Deportes; ManningCast-ESPN2/ESPN+)
The Patriots outscored the Dolphins 21-0 in the second half to win 38-10 on Sunday afternoon. It clinched the second seed for the Patriots and put a lid on Drake Maye’s candidacy.
The Patriots finish the regular season 14-3, while the Dolphins head back to Miami 7-10 and with a decision to make about head coach Mike McDaniel’s future. McDaniel is 35-33 in four seasons.
The Patriots outgained the Dolphins 457 to 180, with 230 of their yards coming in the second half when they ran away from Miami.
Maye was 14-of-18 for 191 yards and a touchdown, turning over the reins to Joshua Dobbs with 11:01 remaining in the fourth quarter. For the season, Maybe completed 72 percent of his passes for 4,394 yards with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He added 450 rushing yards and four scores.
He is the favorite to win the MVP award over Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
Rhamondre Stevenson had seven carries for 131 yards and two touchdowns and scored another on a 15-yard reception, while TreVeyon Henderson took 13 carries for 53 yards and two scores. Maye added five carries for 41 yards.
Hunter Henry caught five passes for 56 yards.
Dolphins rookie Quinn Ewers went 16-of-23 for 137 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He took five sacks. Ewers was playing without running back De’Von Achane and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
Drake Maye’s MVP case was wrapped up with 11:01 remaining in Sunday’s game.
The Patriots quarterback turned over the reins to Joshua Dobbs with the Patriots leading the Dolphins 38-10.
He went 14-of-18 for 191 yards and a touchdown.
For the season, Maybe completed 72 percent of his passes for 4,394 yards with 31 touchdowns and eight interceptions. He added 450 rushing yards and four scores.
He is the favorite to win the award over Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford.
The Patriots are playing for seeding on Sunday. The Dolphins are playing for pride.
Yet, New England leads Miami only 17-10 at halftime.
The Patriots need help from the Chargers, who trail the Broncos 10-3 at halftime. Denver wins the No. 1 seed with a win. The Patriots, though, can get the No. 2 seed with a win.
The Patriots scored on their first two possessions, getting a 5-yard touchdown run from TreVeyon Henderson and a 2-yard run from Rhamondre Stevenson. That gave them a 14-0 lead.
New England, though, then punted, turned it over on downs and watched Zach Sieler block Andy Borregales’ 38-yard field goal try with 1:31 left in the half. Borregales made a career-long 59-yarder on the final play of the half.
The Patriots have outgained the Dolphins 227 to 138.
MVP candidate Drake Maye is 7-of-11 for 84 yards, while Stevenson has three carries for 67 yards and a touchdown and Henderson has nine carries for 44 yards and a touchdown.
Dolphins rookie Quinn Ewers is 9-of-11 for 84 yards and a touchdown. He is playing without star running back De’Von Achane and star wide receiver Jaylen Waddle.
Well, that was easy.
The Patriots needed only three plays to go 70 yards for an opening touchdown.
Rhamondre Stevenson had back-to-back carries of 9 and 56 yards to get the Patriots to the Miami 5, but after doing all the heavy lifting, he did not get a chance for the score.
Rookie TreVeyon Henderson scored on the next play. It was the eighth rushing touchdown for Henderson.
Drake Maye has yet to throw a pass . . . and might not have to at this rate.
The Jaguars made one of the league’s biggest turnarounds in 2025 and they iced the cake with a division title on Sunday.
Trevor Lawrence threw three touchdown passes in the first half and the Jaguars cruised to a 41-7 win over the Titans to sew up the AFC South. It’s their first division title since the 2022 season and it comes after a 4-13 campaign in 2024.
Doug Pederson was fired after the season came to an end and — after a false start that resulted in G.M. Trent Baalke being let go as well — Liam Coen was hired and his first season could not have gone much better. The Jaguars won their eighth straight game on Sunday and Lawrence has played some of the best football of his career during that run.
Lawrence was 22-of-30 for 255 yards before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter. He remained in the game long enough to get to 4,007 passing yards and finishes the regular season with a career-high 29 touchdown passes.
The Jaguars’ other points came on a Bhayshul Tuten touchdown run, an Antonio Johnson interception return and two Cam Little field goals. One of Little’s kicks was a 67-yarder and he now has the two longest field goals in NFL history after hitting a 68-yard kick earlier this year.
The Jaguars know they’ll be hosting a playoff game next weekend, but their final seed remains up in the air. If the Broncos and Patriots lose, the Jags will be the top seed in the conference. They’ll be the No. 2 seed if either team loses and the No. 3 seed if Denver and New England win their games.
Titans quarterback Cam Ward opened the day with a seven-yard touchdown run, but he suffered a right shoulder injury on the play and the first overall pick missed the rest of the game. Ward will have plenty of time to heal up with the season over and the Titans will turn their attention toward hiring a new coach that can help him and the Titans get where Lawrence and the Jaguars find themselves.
The Dolphins will finish the season without running back De’Von Achane and wide receiver Jaylen Waddle. Both are inactive for Miami for today’s season finale against the Patriots.
Achane was doubtful with a shoulder injury, and Waddle was questionable with injured ribs.
Achane rushed for 1,350 yards and eight touchdowns and caught 67 passes for 488 yards and four scores, numbers that should get him consideration for second-team All-Pro. Waddle had 64 receptions for 910 yards and six touchdowns.
The Dolphins’ other inactives are quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, quarterback Cam Miller, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (calf), linebacker Chop Robinson (concussion) and offensive lineman Austin Jackson (back/groin). Tagovailoa will serve as the emergency third quarterback.
The Patriots’ inactives are offensive tackle Marcus Bryant, offensive guard Caedan Wallace, quarterback Tommy DeVito, outside linebacker Harold Landry (knee), inside linebacker Robert Spillane (ankle), nose tackle Khyiris Tonga (foot) and offensive guard Jared Wilson (concussion). DeVito will serve as the emergency third quarterback.
It’s the final day of the regular season, and the playoff field is almost set, as 12 teams have clinched playoff berths and the Seahawks have clinched the top seed in the NFC. But much else remains in flux. Here’s a list of the teams remaining in contention for each playoff seed, and how they can earn those seeds.
NFC
1. Seahawks. The Seahawks get the No. 1 seed, a first-round by and home-field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs after beating the 49ers on Saturday night.
2. Bears or Eagles. If the Bears win or the Eagles lose, the Bears are the No. 2 seed. If the Bears lose and the Eagles win, the Eagles are the No. 2 seed.
3. Eagles or Bears. The team that doesn’t get the No. 2 seed gets the No. 3 seed. The Eagles are resting their starters and effectively conceding the No. 2 seed to the Bears and preparing to be the No. 3 seed.
4. Panthers or Buccaneers. If the Falcons win today, the Panthers win are the No. 4 seed. If the Falcons lose or tie today, the Buccaneers are the No. 4 seed.
5. 49ers or Rams. If the Rams lose or tie today, the 49ers are the No. 5 seed. If the Rams win today, the Rams are the No. 5 seed.
6. Rams or 49ers. If the Rams lose or tie today, the Rams are the No. 6 seed. If the Rams win, the 49ers are the No. 6 seed.
7. Packers. The Packers are the No. 7 seed in the NFC and will open the playoffs on the road against the No. 2 seed, regardless of anything that happens in Week 18.
AFC
1. Broncos or Patriots or Jaguars. If the Broncos win or the Patriots and Jaguars both lose, the Broncos are the No. 1 seed.
If the Patriots win and the Broncos lose, the Patriots are the No. 1 seed.
If the Jaguars win and the Broncos and Patriots both lose, the Jaguars are the No. 1 seed.
2. Patriots or Broncos or Jaguars. If the Patriots and Broncos both win, the Patriots are the No. 2 seed. If the Patriots and Jaguars both lose, the Patriots are the No. 2 seed. If the Broncos win and the Jaguars lose, the Patriots are the No. 2 seed regardless of what the Patriots do.
If the Broncos lose, the Patriots win and the Jaguars lose, the Broncos are the No. 2 seed. If the Broncos lose, the Patriots lose and the Jaguars win, the Broncos are the No. 2 seed.
If the Jaguars win, the Broncos lose and the Patriots win, the Jaguars are the No. 2 seed. If the Jaguars win, the Broncos win and the Patriots lose, the Jaguars are the No. 2 seed.
3. Jaguars or Broncos or Patriots or Texans. If the Jaguars, Broncos and Patriots all win, or the Jaguars tie, thie Jaguars are the No. 3 seed. If the Jaguars and Texans both lose, the Jaguars are the No. 3 seed. If the Broncos win, the Patriots win and the Texans lose, the Jaguars are the No. 3 seed regardless of what the Jaguars do.
If the Broncos lose and Patriots and Jaguars both win, the Broncos are the No. 3 seed.
If the Patriots lose and the Jaguars win, the Patriots are the No. 3 seed.
If the Texans win and the Jaguars lose, the Texans are the No. 3 seed.
4. Steelers or Ravens. If the Steelers beat or tie the Ravens on Sunday Night Football, the Steelers are the No. 4 seed. If the Ravens win, the Ravens are the No. 4 seed.
5. Texans or Jaguars or Chargers or Bills. If the Texans and Jaguars both win, the Texans are the No. 5 seed. If the Texans, Chargers and Bills all lose, the Texans are the No. 5 seed. If the Jaguars win and the Chargers and Bills lose, the Texans are the No. 5 seed regardless of what the Texans do.
If the Jaguars lose, the Texans win and the Bills lose, the Jaguars are the No. 5 seed. (There are also scenarios that see the Jaguars as the 5 seed based on the strength of victory tiebreaker with the Chargers.)
If the Chargers win and the Texans lose, the Chargers are the No. 5 seed. If the Chargers win and the Jaguars lose, the Chargers could also get the No. 5 seed based on clinching the strength of victory tiebreaker over the Jaguars.
If the Bills win, the Chargers lose and either the Texans or Jaguars lose, the Bills are the No. 5 seed.
6. Chargers or Jaguars or Texans or Bills. If the Chargers, Texans and Jaguars all win, the Chargers are the No. 6 seed. If the Chargers and Bills both lose, the Chargers are the No. 6 seed. If the Texans win and the Bills lose, the Chargers are the No. 6 seed regardless of what the Chargers do.
If the Jaguars and Chargers both lose, and the Texans and Bills both win, the Jaguars are the No. 6 seed.
If the Texans lose and either the Bills lose and Chargers win, or the Bills win and Chargers lose, the Texans are the No. 6 seed.
If the Bills win, the Chargers lose and the Texans and Jaguars both win, the Bills are the No. 6 seed. If the Bills win, the Chargers win and the Texans lose, the Bills are the No. 6 seed.
7. Bills or Jaguars or Texans or Chargers. If the Bills lose, the Bills are the No. 7 seed. If the Chargers, Texans and Jaguars all win, the Bills are the No. 7 seed regardless of what the Bills do.
If the Jaguars lose and the Texans, Chargers and Bills all win, the Jaguars can be the No. 7 seed if the Chargers clinch the strength of victory tiebreaker over the Jaguars.
If the Texans lose and the Chargers and Bills both win, the Texans are the No. 7 seed.
If the Chargers lose and the Bills win, the Chargers are the No. 7 seed.
The Patriots have key members of their offensive and defensive line back on the active roster.
Left tackle Will Campbell and defensive tackle Milton Williams were both activated from injured reserve on Saturday. Patriots head coach Mike Vrabel said at his Friday press conference that he expected both of those moves to happen ahead of Sunday’s game against the Dolphins.
Campbell has missed the last four games with a knee injury. The first-round pick started the first 12 games of the season.
Williams spent five games on injured reserve due to an ankle injury. He had 27 tackles and 3.5 sacks in the first 11 weeks.
The Patriots waived defensive tackle Jeremiah Pharms. They also elevated offensive lineman Brenden Jaimes and defensive lineman Leonard Taylor from the practice squad.
